Randy Krejci has impeccable credentials in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

He's been a player, coach, athletic director and referee in the MVC and has served as Valley commissioner since 2000, so it would be hard to find anyone who cares more deeply about the league than he does.

"It's meant a lot to me," he said. "It's where I grew up."

Krejci doesn't claim to have a panacea to cure all the problems facing Class 4A schools around the state, but he'd sure like to help find one and forestall a statewide move to Class 4A district football.

Krejci likes the idea of establishing quotas for Class 4A schools, giving each conference a certain number of playoff berths to keep all four Class 4A conferences intact (see the Metro Sports Report story that was posted Tuesday on quotas).

Krejci thinks there are other possible solutions as well. He's been communicating with all 14 athletic directors in the Mississippi Valley Conference, seeking input and ideas.

Krejci is not married to one specific proposal, but wants to find something that will save the Valley as a football league.

"I'm such an old dog that I really enjoy the loyalty by schools to a respective conference," he said Monday in his office at Harding Middle School, where he's the principal.

Krejci, 57, said he's trying to see the "big picture" and look at the entire state and consider all four Class 4A leagues in Iowa, not just the Valley.

"But selfishly, I think the MVC is a highly organized league that has tremendous competition. Things are going very well," he said.

"I'd say the same thing about the MAC (the Missssippi Athletic Conference). They probably have the ideal structure with 10 teams, where you play nine football games. They always have a true champion and everybody plays everybody else.

"I selfishly wish they'd leave the MVC and the MAC alone," he said.

Things are happening quickly. Todd Tharp, an assistant director with the IHSAA, met with Valley athletic directors last Thursday at Jefferson High School to discuss the proposal for Class 4A districts, including "mock" district assignments for all 4A schools.

The very next day, a survey that was sent to the 47 Class 4A schools was due in the IHSAA office in Boone, giving Valley directors little time to digest the material before voting.

The Board of Directors of the IHSAA will meet in Boone on Oct. 13 to discuss the district proposal. The board could vote as early as November to install Class 4A districts for next season.

Krejci thinks it might be beneficial to slow down and examine other options, rather than making a "knee-jerk reaction" to the district proposal now. "I wouldn't mind seeing us wait until 2014," he remarked.

Quotas are good, he said, "Because then we could probably maintain the conferences as we know it." He'd like to examine other proposals as well, such as a move toward conference divisions that would allow for more non-conference games.

All 14 Mississippi Valley Conference schools play a full nine-game slate of league games, leaving no room for contests against teams from other leagues. The Valley is currently split into two seven-team divisions, but doesn't allow for the possibility of playing MAC schools or teams from other leagues.

Perhaps that could be changed, Krejci suggested.

Krejci knows each league has its own set of issues, but he's confident the problems could be solved with a little more time and thought. He's concerned that a sprint toward Class 4A districts now could damage the Valley, and he'd hate to see that happen.

Even though all 47 Class 4A schools were asked to vote on district football, it's not clear how many votes are needed to adopt - or defeat - the proposal. Tharp said it's not a case of majority rule, either for or against. He said 10, 15 or 20 votes in favor of district football might be enough, depending on what the Board of Directors wants to do.

"That part is a little cloudy to me," Krejci said.

Tharp said IHSAA staff members, including himself, will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors on whether to install districts or not.

Krejci is involved with scheduling MVC events in his role as league commissioner, so he knows the difficulties of arranging slates that make everyone happy. It's nearly impossible, and he doesn't think a district format would solve those problems.

"If they think they've got trouble now doing schedules, it's not going to get better if we go to districts," he said.

All the other classes in Iowa have played district football since 1992, and Class 4A could be next.

"I think it's workable," Krejci said, "but I strongly prefer the conference alignments."